The present invention relates generally to a scaffold bracket used to form scaffolding for construction and repair of aluminum frame screening structures and especially to a scaffold bracket which quickly attaches directly to the screen enclosure frame structure during construction of a screen enclosure for a swimming pool or the like.
It is desirable to have scaffolding for construction workers to attach the screen of an aluminum frame while installing screen onto an aluminum frame structure. The vertical framing members or posts of an aluminum frame structure typically have a pair of parallel grooves adjacent each vertical edge which are designed for attaching the screen to the frame member. The screen can be attached by using ladders or scaffolding placed adjacent to the aluminum frame so that a worker can reach the higher levels of the framework for attaching the screen.
The present invention is directed toward a scaffolding system that attaches directly to the aluminum frame so that the person installing the screen to the frame can easily reach any portion of a frame structure for attaching the screen without having to use a ladder which often has to be placed within heavy shrubbery or on a sloped surface.
In the past, various types of scaffolding which attaches to a framing structure has been suggested. In the Savitski U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,974, a scaffold bracket is removably attached to the stud of a building under construction. The scaffold bracket has first and second gripping members attached to a support arm for engaging both sides of a stud so that a downward force on the support arm, supporting boards, causes the first and second grippers to exert a gripping force on the stud. The first and second gripping members each have a plurality of nails protruding therefrom which are forced into the stud for holding the bracket in place. In the Campbell U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,800, a scaffold apparatus uses a matched pair of plank brackets with a releasable clamping mechanism adapted to clamp the brackets to a pair of timber posts.
In the G. D. Wendl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,670, a scaffold is provided which uses two-by-four vertical support members in the scaffolding along with upper hoop brackets or hangers. The Riblet U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,277 is for a self-locking scaffold bracket employing a load activated lock which locks onto an upright post. The scaffold is raised by a hoisting device to walk it up the post. The Comp U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,932 is a flush mounting scaffolding brace which is nailed to the studs of a structure for supporting the scaffolding planks. The Fears et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,477 shows a collapsible scaffolding bracket while the Reyland U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,968 is for a scaffolding assembly.
Other scaffolding patents can be seen in the T. L. Wood U.S. Pat. No. 2,465,143 for scaffolding and in the Garcia U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,750 for a portable scaffold and in the Reyland U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,725 for a scaffolding assembly.
The present invention in contrast to these prior scaffolding brackets and assemblies provides for a scaffold bracket for removably attaching to a screen enclosure framework such as used to provide a screen enclosure to a swimming pool or the like and is advantageously designed to avoid damage to the aluminum framing while allowing a screen to be attached while the scaffolding bracket is supported on the frame post.